Book: Reiki Yggdrasil — Basic Course, Levels I–V

Introduction · What Is Reiki Yggdrasil?

Course leader: Litvinov

Introduction

What is Reiki? In Japanese, the character Rei has many meanings, but the most common are universe, God, and the Absolute. A concept close to Rei, more familiar from Eastern culture and philosophy, is Tao, signifying divine light, a higher law, order, or a kind of ideal standard.

The character Ki means vital energy, life force, the very breath of Life.

Thus, Reiki is most often translated as universal life energy.

The idea is very simple: the whole universe is permeated with Reiki energy, which can be used in simple methods of working with problems of body and soul. The source describes the method as entirely safe: it claims that the body receives exactly as much healing energy as it needs and directs it to the area where it is most needed.

Unlike psychic healing, which is said to require the healer to develop special extrasensory abilities, the source teaches that anyone can use Reiki energy. A person initiated into the Reiki system acts as a channel for this life energy and, according to the tradition, does not expend their own strength; instead, they are said to be strengthened and enriched by it.

Reiki is also presented as one of the oldest forms of healing by laying on hands. According to the account given here, it was known for thousands of years among different peoples. Its practitioners were often venerated as holy embodiments of God. Such holy elders were known in Japan and China, and in Russia they were regarded as saints. The tradition was later almost forgotten, with a revival beginning in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The source states that Mikao Usui rediscovered this ancient system of Reiki healing in 1922 and named it Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai, the Usui Society for the Reiki Healing Method. It says that the society still exists in Japan. At first the school admitted only Japanese students, but later the teaching spread throughout the world. In this telling, it was regarded as a freely received teaching rather than a system owned by a particular author, revealed to Mikao Usui during long meditations at temples on the sacred Mount Kurama. Today, it says, thousands practice Reiki worldwide and millions believe that Reiki helped them recover from illness.

By naming his teaching Usui Reiki Ryoho, Mikao Usui indicated that he was working with the particular aspect of Reiki energy that had been revealed to him. According to the tradition, the teaching passes from Master to student through an initiation: each Reiki Master, originally Usui himself, opens the student's channel and transmits the capacity to work with Reiki energy.

Upon reaching a certain level, a Reiki Master may modify the system in keeping with their own worldview, developing their own methods and skills for working with

the system. The result may be an entirely new practice with its own distinctive energetic qualities.

Thus, after Mikao Usui's death, one of his students, who was a physician, added more medical aspects and modified the Reiki system. This student was Chujiro Hayashi. According to the source, he founded a clinic in the United States, established a society of Reiki followers called Usui Shiho Ryoho, and developed hand positions suited to clinical work, where several healers often worked with the same patient at once.

Today, besides Usui Reiki Ryoho, there are many other practices that draw on Reiki energy. All were created by Reiki Masters. Well-known examples include Tantra Reiki, Kundalini Reiki, and Reiki Yggdrasil. The Reiki Yggdrasil system was introduced to the world by Nikolai Zhuravlev, described here as having practiced methods of exploring and transforming oneself and one's surroundings for more than twenty years.

Why did Nikolai Zhuravlev link Reiki with the concept of Yggdrasil in his distinctive system?

Yggdrasil is the World Tree of Germanic and Norse mythology: an enormous evergreen ash (or yew) steeped in sacred mead, connecting nine worlds, with the destinies of people inscribed upon its leaves. The ancient Scandinavians imagined the whole of existence in the form of this tree.

Yggdrasil is a classic axis mundi, the axis of the world connecting heaven and earth or the underworld, the world of human beings and the world of the gods. This world axis is a cosmic bridge or road between all the worlds.

Yggdrasil literally means the steed or horse of Yggr, one of Odin's names, meaning the Terrible One. The name also alludes to Odin hanging for nine days and nights, pierced by a spear upon the ash tree, to obtain sacred knowledge (in the North, the gallows could be called the 'horse of the hanged'), and to the possibility of traveling from one world to another by means of the Tree. The council of the gods gathered daily beneath the sacred Tree. Its three roots extended into three worlds: Midgard, the world of humans; Jotunheim, the world of frost giants; and Niflheim, the world of the dead and of mist. Three springs rose beside its roots: the spring of fate, the spring of wisdom, and the source of all earthly rivers. Odin gave up his right eye for a drink from the spring and gained inexhaustible wisdom. On the bark of Yggdrasil, Odin revealed the runes to the world in his own blood.

The word runes is connected with the old Germanic root ru or Gothic runa, translated as 'secret' or 'mysterious whisper.' In the ancient world runes were used not only for writing but also for mystical rituals and divination. The tradition holds that people still turn to the mysterious magic of the old runes in pursuit of power, knowledge, and health.

The concept of Rei may likewise be imagined as a Tree, with all that exists forming its branches and the energy of Ki as the life-giving sap nourishing the whole tree from roots to leaves. Rei also symbolizes the human spirit, wisdom, and the ability to become aware and develop. This aspect of the person is regarded as immortal. Ki represents strength, health, and vital potential.

Five Levels · Attunements at a Glance

According to this teaching, Reiki helps people harmonize their inner dimensions, soul and body, and their relationships with the world and those around them. What could be more harmonious than a tree—especially the World Tree?

Legend tells that the first human couple came to life from two tree trunks found on a shore. The first man was made from an ash branch and named Ask, meaning 'ash.' The first woman was Embla, a name interpreted here as 'willow' (or, according to other sources, 'alder' or 'elm'). The idea that humans descend from trees was widespread in ancient Europe.

The Tree of Life is the universe in which God dwells. Human beings are themselves miniature Trees of Life and, by reconnecting with the Tree, regain their lost immortality. All negative actions, manifestations, and emotions are said to separate a person from that once-perfect state. The flow of Reiki energy through Yggdrasil is understood as bringing the person back to God. By channeling the energy of the runes, the person makes life more conscious, gains mastery over what happens, and develops more rapidly.

By combining and reworking two ancient teachings—Reiki's life-giving energy and the power of the Scandinavian Tree Yggdrasil—Nikolai Zhuravlev created his own distinctive system of understanding the world, which he called Reiki Yggdrasil.

By attuning to the general flow of the runes, the practitioner is said to gradually feel energy filling body and consciousness, creating a favorable state for self-realization in modern society and the ability to change the surrounding world for the better. The Reiki Yggdrasil system addresses many aspects of life: health, relationships, work, money, experiences and knowledge attributed to past lives, and much more.

Despite its depth, the Reiki Yggdrasil system is presented as accessible to everyone. In the source's metaphor, not only the god Odin but an ordinary person may drink the wisdom of Mimir's spring. The system is described as simple to understand and possible to learn with modest effort.

By gradually becoming aware of the power of Reiki energy (hereafter simply 'the Flow') and understanding the structure of Yggdrasil as the structure of the universe's cosmic consciousness (so that the Flow is part of that structure, while the Tree is itself part of the Flow), the practitioner can ascend, as if on a ladder, through the levels of Reiki Yggdrasil.

The levels of Reiki Yggdrasil. The system includes five basic levels of initiation. After completing all five, the student receives the rank of Reiki Yggdrasil Master. Each level consists of different attunements. An attunement is a particular quality of the Flow, its special frequency. The task is to learn to distinguish these attunements within the general Flow and activate them when needed. The source describes the course as building a powerful framework that projects the Yggdrasil Tree into the body and consciousness, making the practitioner more stable and successful.

The first level includes the following attunements:

• Healing

• Intuition

• Protection

• Working with a Situation

At the first level, you learn skills intended to address common difficulties and thereby improve the quality of your own life and the lives of others. These include practices described as healing and self-healing, the cultivation of intuition, and the ability to protect yourself and others from hostile outside influences.

The second level includes the following attunements:

• Charging an Object

• Activating the Money Flow

• Cleansing People; Cleansing a Room

• Breaking a Connection

At the second level, you learn the practice of charging objects and symbolically cleansing yourself, others, objects, and surrounding space of negative structures. This level also addresses building a healthier relationship with money through the 'money flow' attunement.

The third level includes eight attunements:

• Life Purpose

• Emotion

• Activation

• Power

• Sexuality

• Flight

• Intellect

• Karma

According to the course, the third level helps you recognize your true path and goal in life. It discusses clearing negative information attributed to past incarnations and karmic blocks and finding harmony in your emotional life. It also speaks of becoming more attractive to the opposite sex.

Leadership qualities are activated. The Flight attunement is said to allow consciousness to shift through space and time.

The fourth level includes the following attunements:

• Vision

• Past Lives

• Creating a Situation

• Knowledge

The fourth level is described as activating the third eye (Ajna) and cultivating clairvoyant perception and the ability to create desired situations.

The fifth-level attunements are:

• Connection with the World

• Connection with the Gods

The fifth level is intended to expand consciousness, unite conscious and subconscious awareness, and work with situations on a global level, as well as draw upon the symbolic qualities of the Norse gods.

Level I · Healing, Intuition, Protection and Situations

First Level of the Reiki Yggdrasil System. Receiving the attunements for each successive level takes place at the same time as initiation into Reiki Yggdrasil, which must be conducted by a Master. Sit upright, place your hands palms up, relax as fully as possible, and say: 'I receive the attunements of this Reiki Yggdrasil level from...' followed by the Reiki Yggdrasil Master's name. Initiation transmits knowledge that cannot be conveyed in words or read in a book. Reiki Yggdrasil attunements are passed only from Master to student, from person to person.

Remember that an attunement depends not only on the ritual but on the state of the Teacher or Master, their level of conscious awareness and energetic potential. Thus, the strength of the Flow initially received may differ depending on the Master.

To call upon the Flow, simply say the word 'Yggdrasil' in your mind.

People have different sensitivities and perceptions. Some connect immediately to any Flow and can feel it; for others, the energy of the Flow appears as images. Still others need only know what is happening to them. There is no point in relying on sensations alone. At this moment, deep structures within you are being touched.

When we say 'Yggdrasil,' our consciousness is said to connect to the Reiki Yggdrasil Flow. We then attune to a specific aspect of this energetic Flow. Gradually, with experience, it becomes easier to understand whether the connection to the Flow has occurred.

Attunement: 'Healing'

To receive the first attunement, mentally invoke the Flow with the word 'Yggdrasil,' followed by the name of the attunement: 'Healing.'

This attunement is described as providing comprehensive healing on the physical, psycho-emotional, and energetic levels of a person. We attune to Reiki Yggdrasil. Consciousness connects directly to the system in order to focus the Flow upon a particular person. For this, place your hands on the person's shoulders or head. If that is not possible, for example in distance healing, imagine them resting on your palm or write their name there with your finger.

We do not channel the Flow through ourselves; rather, we place the person we are working with directly into the Flow, attuning them to Reiki Yggdrasil.

The Reiki Yggdrasil system is based on the energy of the runes. According to the manual, working with this energy involves the whole body and all its organs, and healing follows the pattern required by the individual. Rather than treating specific organs, we work with the person as a whole. The person begins to develop an inner structure.

When working on ourselves, we say the attunement name 'Healing,' attune directly to our own body, and observe where the energy goes without interfering with it.

When you work with someone else, although you do not pass the energy of the Flow through yourself, you nevertheless enter the state of the Flow and of that attunement. The author says that if you have an illness, the healing process may also begin for you. The text further claims that recovery can sometimes be accompanied by a temporary aggravation of symptoms, which it describes as not dangerous, and that an illness cannot be transmitted from a patient during an attunement.

The manual recommends activating Healing for yourself no more than once a day, while stating that the practice can be performed for others more frequently. With experience, it says, you will learn to notice what frequency of sessions suits a particular patient: once a day, once a week, or even once a month. It suggests that in some circumstances once a week is sufficient.

The objective is not to feel something extraordinary during the attunement, but to practice the skill. As you work in real situations, you will come to understand the experience and its effects. The manual emphasizes what it regards as the ultimate outcome: the patient's health.

Attunement: 'Intuition'

Intuition is the ability to assess a situation without prolonged reasoning or logical analysis and to make the right decision immediately, finding an answer to any question. It is the direct apprehension of truth without prior logical argument or proof. By activating this attunement, the manual says, you begin to scan your past and future, developing the skill of responding to external signals.

In psychology, intuition is often viewed as one of the leading functions of personality, shaping the person's relationship to self and the surrounding world and their way of making important life decisions.

Intuition is one of the most necessary skills. It saves time and makes life easier, helping you make the right choice in everything from small matters to major situations. Knowing in advance which decision will prove most successful allows you to choose the most suitable course of events.

The Intuition attunement is intended to help you achieve results quickly with minimal expenditure. You learn to understand what is best for yourself and for others, for example in deciding how to help or protect yourself and loved ones.

This attunement should be practiced as frequently as possible so that you become familiar with a sense of inner knowing: what to do, and when. The most important thing is to train every day and put these insights into practice. Bring the use of this 'sixth sense' to the level of a reflex so that you use the attunement not only in the school classroom under the Master's guidance, but everywhere, every day.

To activate the attunement, say 'Yggdrasil' and the name 'Intuition.'

Even if you feel nothing special at first, gradually you will learn to recognize different situations. A sense of the most appropriate way to behave will arise intuitively. The manual says that, as practice develops, this attunement begins activating automatically for students who have completed the training whenever they urgently need to make an important decision.

Attunement: 'Protection'

No one in the modern world needs an explanation of why this attunement is necessary. It concerns not only protection from negative influences but also increasing the density of the energetic body.

When we go outside every day and encounter many people, the teaching recommends making the energetic body, or Cocoon, as dense as possible. This attunement is said to form a projection of Yggdrasil onto the human body and thus produce a healing effect. The source associates almost half of illnesses with dents in the energetic body and claims that Protection restores a person's structure and smooths the energetic Cocoon.

Whenever you find yourself in a crowd, remember to activate this attunement.

Whenever you have to communicate with someone you would rather not speak to, practice Protection.

When you encounter someone who might affect you negatively, remember this attunement, which the author considers essential.

The text maintains that activating the attunement cannot harm anyone because it contains no offensive or combative aspects. It only gently reflects negative influences directed toward you. According to the author, people harm themselves much more when they become emotionally entangled in an unpleasant situation. To activate it, say 'Yggdrasil,' then 'Protection.'

After some time, you can make activating Protection in difficult situations an automatic skill. The author says you may also activate it for relatives to protect them. While at first its effect may last only briefly, with experience you are said to be able to maintain it for longer periods. Above all, try to practice this attunement as often as possible.

Attunement: 'Working with a Situation'

Would you like every life situation and every plan to unfold in the best possible way for you? Of course. But that does not always happen on its own. This is why the Working with a Situation attunement exists. According to the course, activating it brings about the most favorable possible development of events. Simply focus on a particular undertaking, and even a difficult situation is said to resolve in the best way for you.

Be prepared inwardly for the possibility that what you desire may come to you in a completely different way from what you imagined—or may not come at all. The Flow, in this teaching, selects what is truly good and useful for you, allowing an ideal outcome you could not have reached by your own actions. Cosmic energy itself is said to guide you along the right path.

To activate the attunement, say 'Yggdrasil' and 'Working with a Situation,' then try to focus on the situation or task that matters to you.

You do not need to concentrate on one specific situation. You can attune to yourself and to your entire day. The manual suggests that such a day will be more harmonious and emotionally peaceful.

Remember that all Reiki Yggdrasil attunements can be combined. For example, Working with a Situation can be combined with Healing. The source says this allows you to focus not on the whole body but on a particular organ or illness. Its examples are 'Working with a Situation — Healing the Liver' or 'Working with a Situation — Healing a Cold.'

According to the teaching, working on healing through Working with a Situation also addresses the 'situations' associated with the illness, which it describes as the underlying causes. The author says the effects of the Flow thereby become more pronounced than when Healing is used on its own.

In Reiki Yggdrasil, you do not work with your own energy but simply channel the Flow. However, the manual notes that maintaining the Flow still consumes some of your energy. It says using Working with a Situation for healing requires more energy than healing without this attunement.

Practice Working with a Situation as often as possible. The author predicts that you will quickly acquire the skill and that difficulties which once seemed impossible to resolve will become things of the past. Your life will become more harmonious and meaningful.

PRACTICING THE ATTUNEMENTS

The following exercises are recommended for practicing:

1. Attunement: 'Healing'

Find a partner with whom you can practice the Healing attunement regularly, preferably several times a week. Write down which areas of the body respond most strongly to the attunement.

2. Attunement: 'Intuition'

Practice on public transport—for example, which door is best to enter. With a partner, try to guess which hand holds a coin, what image the other person has thought of, and so on. Treat it as a playful exercise, practice constantly, and do not fixate on results! ☺

3. Attunement: 'Protection'

Practice activating this attunement during business communication, while walking in the street, and when interacting with people. Aim to make the desired state activate automatically. Observe when your resourceful state disappears, at what moment, and in connection with what, and then activate the attunement. Also write down the situations in which using it would be most relevant for you.

4. Attunement: 'Working with a Situation'

Write down one or several situations you want to work with. Preferably record or draw the situation on a sheet of paper and hang it on the wall in front of you. Whenever your eyes fall on the image, use the Working with a Situation attunement.

Attunements are best practiced in pairs or groups. I strongly recommend finding a partner and working on the attunements together!

Record your discoveries, achievements, insights, and questions in the Reviews discussion topic.

Good luck! ☺

Level II · Objects, Money, Cleansing and Connections

Second Level of the Reiki Yggdrasil System

Attunement: 'Charging an Object'

The Charging an Object attunement is used when you want to create an object that carries the qualities of the Reiki Yggdrasil Flow. You can charge it with the general Flow or with the energy of a specific attunement. The object is intended to activate your chosen attunement automatically without requiring you to focus constantly on the Flow.

To charge an object, hold it in your hands. If it is very large, simply place your palms on it. Any object can be charged.

To activate the attunement, say 'Yggdrasil' and 'Charging an Object.' You may also add the name of another attunement with which you want to charge the object. Then focus on the object.

Remember that, according to Reiki Yggdrasil teaching, unlike some other practices, the Flow is activated within the object itself, in its inner energetic structure. Therefore try to focus your attention inside the object rather than on its surface.

Even food can be charged. The manual claims that charged food brings a feeling of satiety more quickly than ordinary food and provides additional benefits for the body.

Attunement: 'Activating the Money Flow'

Money is what our lives revolve around, whether we admit it or not. Its importance and power are beyond dispute.

Unfortunately, our prosperity depends on more than how hard and how much we work. You have probably noticed that some people simply seem unlucky with money: however hard they work, money does not stay with them. In the teaching, their financial misfortune is attributed not to poor or insufficient work but to negative informational programs in their energetic systems that prevent them from receiving and retaining a money flow.

The Activating the Money Flow attunement is described as clearing these programs, removing inner limitations, and attracting finances from different sources. It is intended to help you build a healthy relationship with money and influence your financial circumstances.

To activate it, say 'Yggdrasil' and 'Activating the Money Flow.'

According to the manual, the attunement also increases energy and gives structure to your energetic body, so that you can not only receive money but also keep it.

You can combine Activating the Money Flow with Charging an Object and charge, for example, your wallet or any other object with this attunement.

Practice Activating the Money Flow as often as possible, and the author says you will notice a significant improvement in your prosperity.

Attunements: 'Cleansing People' and 'Cleansing a Room.' Throughout life, we are affected by other people, often negatively. These influences may be unconscious: for example, someone may envy us or angrily insult us, either silently or aloud. According to the energetic model described here, such thoughts and words create much of the negative accumulation in a person's energetic body, resulting in deformations resembling dents and gaps.

The manual associates such influences with weakness, rapid fatigue, lethargy, frequent insomnia, and recurring illness.

It warns that without timely measures to cleanse a person's aura of negative structures, irreversible damage may occur.

To activate the attunement, write with your finger on your palm the name of the person who needs cleansing, or imagine them there. If you are cleansing yourself, concentrate on your own body.

Say 'Yggdrasil' and 'Cleansing a Person.'

Objects and rooms, although they do not possess consciousness of their own, are also considered susceptible to external negative influences. The author refers to feelings of anxiety, fear, or even unexplained aggression in certain rooms, and to objects that seem to 'attract' misfortune. In the source's account, being in such rooms or coming into contact with such objects adversely affects physical, psychological, and energetic well-being, so they too are thought to need urgent cleansing.

Hold the object you want to cleanse in your hands. If it is large or if you are working with a whole room, imagine the object or room on your palm.

Say 'Yggdrasil,' then 'Cleansing an Object' or 'Cleansing a Room.' You may name the object or room, for example 'Cleansing the Car' or 'Cleansing the Apartment.'

According to the teaching, the Cleansing a Person, Cleansing a Room, and Cleansing an Object attunements operate like a scanner of energetic and informational structures. If this scanning detects negative information, the Flow is said to destroy it. Anything that does not correspond to the harmonious energy of Reiki Yggdrasil is removed.

Attunement: 'Breaking a Connection'

In life we repeatedly encounter people with whom relationships do not work out and whose company becomes burdensome. Such relationships, lacking harmony, can be very harmful to a person.

It is precisely for such situations that Breaking a Connection exists. This attunement is primarily intended to heal and cleanse the channels of connection between people.

To activate it, mentally say 'Yggdrasil,' then 'Breaking a Connection,' and concentrate on the image of the person.

Problems sometimes arise with strangers who mean nothing to us or with people whose relationships weigh us down. Sometimes a relationship causes more harm than good. The source holds that such a connection cannot be cleansed and can only be interrupted. Using the attunement, the practitioner aims to release the negative connection with these people.

But what should we do if the conflict is with someone precious to us, or someone upon whom we depend in one way or another? In such cases, the attunement becomes a test of whether we truly need that person in our life.

At the same time, the manual says you may use the attunement with loved ones. Close relatives cannot disappear from your life through it, because such connections cannot be broken. Instead, the attunement is said to remove negative aspects of the relationship and help you find common ground and reach agreement.

It may also be used, according to the text, to release intrusive and troubling memories.

The Breaking a Connection attunement is intended to help you sever unnecessary emotional ties to the past, increasing energetic potential and expanding your possibilities in life.

PRACTICING THE ATTUNEMENTS

1. Attunement: 'Charging an Object'

To practice this attunement, I recommend:

• Charge a liquid and the container used for it with Healing, Cleansing, and Protection. The difference in taste is generally subtle and not always easy to detect, but it is said to exist. To make the comparison easier, I recommend using a flavored drink, such as herbal tea or fruit compote.

• Charge furniture and articles of clothing with Cleansing and Protection.

2. Attunement: 'Activating the Money Flow'

To practice this attunement, I recommend:

• Write down all possible sources of income for yourself.

• Write how much you expect to receive from those sources each month or quarter.

• After working with Activating the Money Flow, refine how much you feel ready and able to receive.

3. Attunements: 'Cleansing People' and 'Cleansing a Room.' To practice these attunements, I recommend:

• Cleanse your room or apartment every day and observe any changes in how the room feels.

• Apply Cleansing to yourself and others, and also use the Healing attunement.

4. Attunement: 'Breaking a Connection'

To practice this attunement, I recommend:

• Perform the Breaking a Connection attunement every evening.

• List the most stressful phenomena in your life and negative past situations you still remember.

• Perform Breaking a Connection for all the negative circumstances you would like to remove from your life.

Record your discoveries, achievements, insights, and questions in the group. Good luck! ☺

Level III · Life Purpose, Emotions, Power and More

Third Level of the Reiki Yggdrasil System

Attunement: 'Life Purpose'

Everyone experiences difficult periods that arise along the path of life regardless of their wishes. At such times, a person must concentrate and use all available strength to solve the challenges life has presented.

This is when it becomes especially important to understand one's purpose, what one truly needs, and how best to live. There is a reason such periods are called crises, from the Greek krisis, meaning a decision or turning point. After each turning point, a person changes and enters a qualitatively new state, almost as if reborn.

By activating the Life Purpose attunement, the author says, you will immediately sense which direction to move in, what corresponds to your path, and what does not. Life becomes more harmonious; you better understand yourself and recognize the meaning of events in your life.

To activate the attunement, say 'Yggdrasil' and then 'Life Purpose.'

The knowledge gained from this attunement is compared to a long-awaited light in a dark tunnel: a wide space opens and everything becomes clear. It gives a person a direction in life and helps them move toward their chosen goal.

This is why the author claims that the Life Purpose attunement is particularly helpful in treating various depressive states and alcoholism.

The source explains alcoholism, depressive states, and various psychosomatic illnesses mainly as consequences of an inner conflict between what we are destined to do and the circumstances of our actual lives. If a person is dissatisfied with life, continues to drift with the current, and pursues activities that obstruct them, these conflicts are said eventually to manifest in the body.

Looking at such people, it may seem that they have become lost in life's labyrinth and taken the wrong turn. The Life Purpose attunement is presented as a way to help them find the road to harmony, happiness, and success.

Attunement: 'Emotion'

Very strong emotions, regardless of whether they are pleasant or unpleasant, can act as stressors: they tire the body and place it under stress. The manual asserts that science has long demonstrated that most illnesses are caused by intense negative emotions or experiences, which harm health and may lead to serious disease.

Strong negative emotions and painful experiences can overload the nervous system. The immune system may also suffer. The source cites modern research as linking severe emotional and psychological stress with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and many other conditions.

The Emotion attunement is described as helping a person let go of negative emotions and stabilize their emotional and psychological state.

To activate it, say 'Yggdrasil' and 'Emotion.'

Activating Emotion is intended to help a person achieve syntony: a harmonious response to the states of other people. The source says it makes people more balanced and sociable and reduces the tendency toward inner contradictions and outward conflicts.

The author also claims that by relieving excessive negative experiences, the Emotion attunement can help restore and substantially strengthen lost health.

Attunement: 'Activation'

Most of us have experienced laziness or a simple loss of strength: we need to do something, yet have neither the energy nor the desire to act.

Often we fall into this unproductive state at the least convenient moments in life. Every task requiring effort then becomes an ordeal. For such situations, the manual recommends the Activation attunement.

Try practicing Activation instead of repeating to yourself 'I must' or drinking liters of coffee or tea.

Simply say in your mind 'Yggdrasil' and 'Activation.'

The source says you will immediately feel an influx of invigorating energy, discover fresh strength, and get a 'second wind.' Getting up each morning will no longer feel like a heroic feat.

Remember that laziness and loss of energy may also be signs of overexertion or depression: signals from the body that it needs rest. In this case, the manual proposes repeating the attunement several times so that the body can rest before Reiki Yggdrasil energy opens up a 'second wind.'

The Activation attunement combines well with Life Purpose.

Attunement: 'Power'

Power is the ability and capacity to carry out one's will and influence other people's activities and behavior in order to achieve desired results. What determines a person's ability to guide others? Why are some respected and listened to by everyone while others go unnoticed? The source's answer is the amount of inner strength.

A strong person is always confident. When someone is self-assured, they radiate an attractive calm and transmit it to those around them. According to the teaching, nature makes people with considerable inner strength interesting and trustworthy to others.

The Power attunement is intended to help you occupy a position of strength in any situation. It activates the ability to lead people and makes you calm and confident.

To activate it, say 'Yggdrasil' and 'Power.'

Inner strength always commands respect. The author compares a strong person attracting weaker people to a heavy object attracting a lighter one.

You will, the source promises, defend your position easily in negotiations. Others will gladly help you and do all they can for you. You will no longer have to wait for hours in an organization before employees finish their business and pay attention to you. People will treat you respectfully and listen to your opinion.

With the Power attunement, the teaching says, you will be able to achieve more in life with less effort whenever needed.

Attunement: 'Sexuality'

Nature has endowed each of us with sexuality. Some have it in abundance, while others have a little less, and it is not expressed as brightly.

Sexuality is not simply a particular appearance or a set of behavioral patterns; it is energy. It is an energy of attraction that drives people to draw closer and unite, especially with members of the opposite sex. The greatest magnetism, according to the teaching, is radiated by those who appear happy and confident. The amount of this energy is said to increase by activating the Sexuality attunement.

Say 'Yggdrasil' and 'Sexuality.'

The Sexuality attunement is presented as harmonizing the sexual sphere. According to the author, complexes and needless fears that deter potential admirers will soon fade away. You will better understand and love yourself, and thus become more attractive to the opposite sex.

Daily activation of the Sexuality attunement is said to build up so much energy of attraction that sexual magnetism will begin to manifest automatically.

Attunement: 'Flight'

Almost everyone has dreamed at least once of visiting the past or future, catching a glimpse, and then returning. How wonderful it would be to reach any point on Earth at will! The teaching claims that this is not difficult: such travel is impossible for the physical body, but presents no obstacle to consciousness.

Flight is described as consciousness leaving the body. By activating this attunement, the practitioner is said to move through time and space in consciousness and see an event of interest.

Shifting through time is proposed, for example, when we want to understand a problem but cannot identify its original cause, or when we want to see where certain actions may lead in the future and what might prevent an unwanted outcome.

Moving through space, the source says, one can visit other countries, observe the actions of people, travel even to other planets, and enter other worlds.

Before a 'journey,' set a clear goal for yourself by specifying the place and time. The manual says this will make it easier to gain experience and produce more accurate results. To activate the attunement, say 'Yggdrasil' and then 'Flight.'

To acquire the skill more quickly, try practicing Flight every day. Begin with three to five minutes and gradually lengthen the duration of the 'flight.'

Attunement: 'Intellect'

Intellect is the ability to perceive, analyze, systematize, and use information effectively to achieve a goal. It comprises a person's cognitive and analytical abilities.

The Intellect attunement is presented as developing these abilities, helping people analyze and absorb information more quickly. It is said to increase the speed of perception, aid deep memorization of new information, and restore one of the most important qualities of human intellect: the capacity to learn quickly.

To activate this attunement, say 'Yggdrasil' and 'Intellect.'

According to the manual, regular activation of Intellect gradually synchronizes the brain's hemispheres and restores the brain's natural harmonious functioning. The author connects this with better overall health and the opening of abilities considered to be inherent in a person from birth.

Attunement: 'Karma'

The teaching holds that negative experiences from previous incarnations pass into later incarnations and become imprinted upon the mental body. No one wants to carry such a heavy burden from the past.

The Karma attunement is intended to help you work through useful karmic programs on subtle levels by becoming conscious of them and simply erase those that are unnecessary.

To activate it, say 'Yggdrasil' and 'Karma.'

The attunement is said to correct and cleanse karma, removing the consequences of negative experiences and behavior patterns. According to the source, a person's karma cannot be erased completely, because individual karma is closely intertwined with that of all humanity and woven into the fabric of the world.

The manual recommends performing this attunement no more than once a day.

PRACTICING THE ATTUNEMENTS

For practicing the attunements, it is recommended first of all that you start a Personal Book in which you record every question, goal, and discovery associated with working on yourself, particularly through the Reiki Yggdrasil system.

5. Attunement: 'Life Purpose'

• After activating Life Purpose, draw your ideal future on paper—as if it were a slide showing what you are doing, where you are, who is around you, and so on.

• While activating Life Purpose, describe the maximum you would like to accomplish in life: what you would need to do to say that your life was not lived in vain.

• Write down 10–12 possible activities you intend to pursue soon, such as professional fields, business, or leisure. With the Life Purpose attunement activated, use your feelings to select the three that seem most aligned with your possible purpose.

6. Attunement: 'Emotion'

• Write down eight to ten factors or situations that irritate you most in life.

• Mentally revisit these situations one by one until you feel tension. As you recall each situation, activate Emotion and observe changes in your state.

• Choose the irritating situations you would most like to work on during the coming week. Record them in your Personal Book.

• During the day, notice situations that trigger irritation and use Emotion. You can add to your written list of irritating situations so you can become more aware of them.

• For the strongest situations, consider which inner conflict or which aspect of yourself you do not accept that might be causing this response.

• Try working with other people in practice: activate the attunement when you meet aggressive people, for example on public transport.

7. Attunement: 'Activation'

• Make a plan for the week or day, and activate Activation when you feel that events are proceeding too slowly and you want to accelerate the process.

• Activate Activation for other people whose actions you are waiting for.

8. Attunement: 'Power'

• Come up with an idea and identify the people you need to put it into practice. Present your idea—any idea—to this person or group so they believe it is realistic, important, and necessary.

• In social situations or open discussions, activate the attunement as you seek greater authority in the conversation.

9. Attunement: 'Sexuality'

• Record how your sense of yourself and perception of others change when you activate this attunement. What appears or disappears within you during Sexuality? How do your relationship with the world and your behavior change?

• Activate the attunement while communicating with people and observe their reactions.

10. Attunement: 'Flight'

• Practice the sensation of being outside your body. Remember how it feels when the attunement is activated.

• Practice mentally moving your double or duplicate around the room where you are. Remember or record the sensations as the double moves and how you experience yourself in those locations.

• Practice moving your double into neighboring rooms and observing.

• Try moving into any region of space, using a photograph as a reference.

• Move into the past, either historical or personal.

• Move into the future, to a place where your goals have been achieved, and observe which route might best lead you there.

11. Attunement: 'Intellect'

• Activate it when solving difficult problems. Observe sensations within your consciousness.

12. Attunement: 'Karma'

• Consider which inner stereotypes and reactions are unhelpful or stressful for you and write them on paper.

• As you activate Karma, observe what processes, emotions, and reactions arise around you.

Record your discoveries, achievements, insights, and questions in the group. Good luck! ☺

Level IV · Vision, Past Lives and Knowledge

Fourth Level of the Reiki Yggdrasil System

Attunement: 'Vision'

Clairvoyance, literally 'clear seeing,' is described as the ability to see what ordinary physical vision cannot perceive. In the tradition, a person's capacity for extrasensory perception is directly

associated with the awakening of the Ajna chakra. Ajna is also called the 'third eye.'

The Vision attunement is said to activate the third eye, opening etheric or astral sight that can see 'through walls': objects and bodies become transparent. The manual claims that this may allow a practitioner to see the aura, a person's internal organs and their functioning, as well as past and future events.

The source claims that using this attunement during healing allows one to understand what led to an illness, simplifies making a correct diagnosis, and increases the effectiveness of subsequent therapy.

To activate it, say 'Yggdrasil' followed by 'Vision.'

A new world is said to open before you. Clear seeing can, in the author's view, be invaluable to the practitioner and other people. But the manual also warns that this ability can sometimes cause more inconvenience than help. You must learn not only to open Vision but to close it. After all, what would be the point of seeing other people's internal organs when riding public transport?

The manual further suggests that activating this attunement allows a person to see entities of the subtle world that are always nearby but normally invisible—most commonly various spirits and ghosts. Many people, it says, are not ready even to encounter them, let alone live with a constant awareness of them.

To prevent such abilities from becoming inconvenient, turn off Vision. Simply say 'Close Vision.'

The source states that these abilities will develop gradually as more energy accumulates in the Ajna chakra.

Daily training is recommended to develop the necessary skills.

Attunement: 'Past Lives'

It should be clarified at once that the Past Lives attunement is primarily intended to activate a connection with the egregores to which a person was connected in previous incarnations.

An egregore (from the Latin ex, 'out of,' and grex, 'crowd,' 'group,' or 'community') is described as a complex energetic and informational entity created and sustained by people with similar thoughts, as well as by shared phenomena, systems, and communities.

The teaching describes egregores of religions, nations, states, professions, and other groups. One may turn to an egregore for help, protection, or information. All egregores are said to merge into the single powerful Egregore of the Earth—the Genius of the Earth.

By activating Past Lives, the manual says, you connect to the Genius of the Earth and draw information about every life you have lived. Using this knowledge, you enter into resonance with other countries, cities, nations, and professions. For example, if you want to learn a foreign language, resonance with the country where it is spoken is said to make learning easier. To master a new profession, you enter into resonance with it. Resonance with other peoples is presented as helping you understand them subconsciously so that others consider you 'one of their own.' The attunement promises a feeling of being 'at home' in any country or city.

To activate it, mentally say 'Yggdrasil' and 'Past Lives.'

Our subconscious is described as a bridge between conscious awareness and the informational layer of the Genius of the Earth. Activating this attunement is believed to open the subconscious and bring access to all possible knowledge and skills from past incarnations. As with Vision, the source advises against remaining in this state for too long and recommends leaving it in time. Practice Past Lives every day, it says, but for no more than 10–20 minutes. Then say 'Turn off Past Lives.'

Attunement: 'Creating a Situation'

The main difference between Working with a Situation and Creating a Situation is that in the first case, according to the teaching, you receive the best of all possible outcomes for you, whereas in the second you create what you specifically need.

This attunement is convenient when you know exactly what result you want and how you want to obtain it. To activate Creating a Situation, you should therefore set a clear final goal. Say 'Yggdrasil' and 'Creating a Situation.'

When working with this attunement, try to avoid doubts about whether your actions are correct, because doubt is said to consume a great deal of energy that you may later lack for achieving the desired result.

Attunement: 'Knowledge'

Knowledge means possessing answers to questions that allow one to solve a task.

By activating this attunement, the practitioner is believed to connect directly to an informational Flow—what is conventionally known as the Akashic Records or the Akashic Library.

The Akashic Records are described as a repository of information about everything in existence. They contain all human experience and

the history of the universe's origins, along with information about the past, present, and future of every being.

The attunement is intended to help you obtain the necessary information quickly and understand it logically.

To obtain information from the Akashic Records, the source says you should already have some knowledge of the subject or field that interests you. The more you know, the more information you are believed able to draw from the universal storehouse. For example, to receive the algorithm for a new computer program through Knowledge, you should understand what the instructions will mean. Otherwise, you may receive knowledge you cannot use, making it useless to you.

To activate this attunement, say 'Yggdrasil' and 'Knowledge.'

By activating it whenever necessary, the manual suggests you will find it much easier to master new knowledge. It is also presented as helping you acquire new abilities and skills.

PRACTICING THE ATTUNEMENTS

To practice these attunements, it is first recommended that you start a Personal Book to record every question, goal, and discovery associated with working on yourself and specifically with the Reiki Yggdrasil system.

13. Attunement: 'Vision'

• Carry out a self-assessment of your body and energetic field before and after activating the attunement.

• Find reference reactions that help you describe what you perceive: warm–cold, dense–soft, light–heavy, light–dark, bright–dim, ringing–muted, sweet–sour, clear–foggy, and so on. These may be individual markers. Record your own markers for assessment.

• Switch Vision on and off several times a day (ten or more times), for three to five minutes at a time. Observe what changes in your perception of yourself while the attunement is active.

• Carry out similar assessments of other people and objects. Share notes about your reference system and the characteristics of your perception.

14. Attunement: 'Past Lives'

• List the egregores—groups of knowledge, skills, and other areas—you would like to get to know better and whose information or skills you would like to master.

• Sense how much you already belong to these egregores.

• Check whether you feel a stronger connection with these egregores after activating the attunement. Observe how you feel afterward.

15. Attunement: 'Creating a Situation'

• Choose a situation you want to create that could realistically arise within two weeks.

• Write a detailed description of the situation or result on paper.

• Activate the attunement.

16. Attunement: 'Knowledge'

• Identify a question that interests you and that you want to answer.

• Consider possible ways to obtain the information and where it might be found.

• Begin thinking about the subject, identify what you already know, and activate the attunement.

Record your discoveries, achievements, insights, and questions in the group.

Level V · The World, Gods and Archetypal Qualities

Fifth Level of the Reiki Yggdrasil System

Attunement: 'Connection with the World'

This attunement expands a person's consciousness. The boundaries of perception broaden and the overall level of awareness increases.

The attunement is said to establish a link with the Egregore of the Earth—the Genius of the Earth. Thus, the teaching proposes that in solving tasks you can draw not only on your own energy but also on the boundless power of the Genius of the Earth.

As you work with the attunement, you begin to understand, according to the source, that every action triggers chains of resonance and brings about changes at a global level.

Connection with the World is compatible with every other attunement in Reiki Yggdrasil and is said to amplify them many times. For example, it can be used to create situations more effectively. To activate it, say 'Yggdrasil' and 'Connection with the World.' Maintaining a state of expanded consciousness is believed to require much of your personal energy, so remember to switch off the state in time.

Say: 'Turn off Connection with the World.'

Attunement: 'Connection with the Gods'

This attunement is intended to establish contact with Norse gods, acquire the qualities associated with each of them, and receive their power. To do so, say 'Yggdrasil,' then 'Connection with the God (or Goddess)...' and name the deity.

Appendix · The Norse Pantheon

Principal Deities of the Norse Pantheon: Their Qualities and Spheres of Influence

The higher deities of the Norse pantheon are divided into two groups. The larger group is the Aesir, the high gods; the second is the Vanir, which includes Njord and his children Freyja and Freyr. The Vanir were gods of fertility and prosperity who possessed the gift of foresight and prophecy and practiced magic.

The supreme god of the Aesir and ruler of heaven and earth was Odin (Wodan or Wotan among the ancient Germanic peoples). He has many aspects. Odin is the god of knowledge, magic, and superconsciousness; of war, life, and violent death; creator of humanity and god of shamans and wanderers. He embodies the madness of a warrior in battle, an ecstatic seer's frenzy, and a poet's inspiration. He is the god of wisdom and supreme authority. Odin's wisdom goes beyond the secret arts: by sacrificing himself and obtaining the sacred runes, he gains knowledge of the destinies of the world. The tradition teaches that by connecting with Odin one may receive secret knowledge of past and future, acquire strength, and learn to influence life circumstances. He is said to aid success in study by developing the intellect, as well as in magic, to bestow creative inspiration, and to show a path for personal growth.

Among the gods, the ancient Scandinavians particularly revered Odin, Thor, and Freyr. In addition, magical practitioners most often address Tyr, Frigg, Freyja, Njord, and Idunn. The names of other northern gods and goddesses may also be used in magical practice.

Baldr — son of Frigg and Odin; a beautiful, youthful, benevolent god beloved by all. A bright god of peace, beauty, and spring. He is believed to help people gain popularity and confidence, establish and preserve peace, recover from illness, and overcome psychological trauma.

Bragi — a god renowned for wisdom and eloquence, husband of the goddess Idunn. He bestows talent upon chosen people.

Vali — god of vengeance and a skilled archer, son of Odin, who grew to heroic stature within one day. According to myth, he avenged Baldr's murder when he was one day old.

Var — goddess of truth and honesty. She hears and records people's oaths, especially agreements between men and women, and severely punishes those who break them. Var helps people keep their promises.

Vor — goddess of all-knowing wisdom. Nothing can escape her penetrating insight. She aids awareness, study, and understanding, and bestows intuition and knowledge.

Vidar — son of Odin, god of silence, war, vengeance, and strength. He helps one endure and overcome a crisis.

Gefjon — goddess of virtue and chastity. In Old English poetry, her name is used as an epithet for the sea. She is also known as the Giver or Bestower. Through her one may receive a wondrous gift, such as talent or wealth. She is credited with profound knowledge like that of Frigg, Odin's wife.

Gna — messenger goddess and companion of Frigg. Riding her wondrous horse across water and air, she could reach any world. Connecting with Gna is said to transform consciousness and raise it to higher planes.

Idunn — goddess of spring, youth, and renewal. She keeps the golden apples that allow the gods to remain forever young. She is associated with regaining youth and promoting fertility.

Loki — god of cunning, deceit, and ingenuity. He is the father of chthonic monsters and also gave birth to Odin's famous eight-legged horse Sleipnir. Loki is a joker and prankster with a classic trickster character. He is said to offer unconventional and unexpected answers to any question and bring sudden good fortune. Loki may be useful when something needs to be concealed or another person misled. He teaches cunning and easy adaptation to any environment. His humor can be excellent but is often harsh. He is a catalyst for change in life. Loki is two-faced, evasive, and follows his own concepts of good and evil, so the manual urges special caution in connecting with him.

Lofn — goddess of permission and leniency; her name is linked to the word lof, meaning permission or allowance. She is believed to help overcome inhibitions and oppressive social opinion and to gain freedom. With her consent, secret romantic relationships may be entered.

Njord (the ancient Germanic Nerthus) — god of fertility, the sea, and wind, the most important of the Vanir. He helps ships in distress, sends favorable winds, and causes summer rains. He is patron of fishing and hunting marine animals, and is associated with material prosperity, safety in physical and astral travel, the birth of sons, and solving financial problems.

Saga — a prophetic goddess. Her name is linked with segja, 'to say.' She helps one understand the past and see the future. Her name may have been one of Frigg's epithets.

Syn — goddess guarding locked doors. Syn means refusal or denial. She helps one recognize truth and find the strength to say 'no.' A defender of the accused in court, she may be invoked to protect the home, resist physical or psychological attack, and guard dwellings from thieves.

Snotra — goddess of intelligence, wisdom, and courtesy. She knows not only how to behave properly but also the reasons behind the rules. She understands human character deeply and can help with social relationships and psychological balance.

Sjofn — goddess of love and friendship. Her name is linked with sjafni, meaning affection. People invoke her when they want to attract the attention or favor of someone they love.

Thor (Thunar or Donar in ancient Germanic tradition) — son of Odin and Jord, the Earth. The thunder god who protects gods and people from evil forces. He is associated with making amulets. The manual says calling on Thor brings protection and his qualities: courage, fearlessness, endurance, confidence, goal-setting, and the determination to persevere to the end.

Tyr or Tiw (Tiu in ancient Germanic tradition) — god of heaven, justice, law, and just warfare. Warriors appealed to him for victory. He protects duels and military assemblies and presides over justice and rational thought. The teaching suggests that connecting with Tyr helps you defend your rights, negotiate with others, accomplish your aims, and overcome fear.

Ullr or Ull — god of winter and patron of hunters, archers, and skiers. The name Ullr means 'shining.' He is said to grant those who call upon him precise coordination and victory in combat.

Forseti — god of justice, arbitration, and reconciliation. He helps settle disputes and restore harmony between opposing sides. Connecting with him is also associated with wisdom and eloquence.

Freyja — goddess of fertility, eros, love, and beauty, daughter of Njord and twin sister of Freyr. She rules the world of feelings and emotions and, like Odin, is a deity of magic. She holds power over natural cycles. Freyja is said to help bring good harvests and material wealth and to reveal one's destiny. She is associated with easier childbirth and increased feminine sexual attractiveness. She protects travelers through the worlds of Yggdrasil.

Freyr — god of summer, sunlight, peace, fertility, and sensual pleasures, son of Njord, the sea and wind god, and twin brother of Freyja. He is a handsome and benevolent god, patron of abundant harvests, material and physical well-being, and marriage. The teaching says men can appeal to him to increase sexual attractiveness and potency.

Frigg — goddess of marriage, love, and the family hearth. Wife of Odin, she is said to know the secrets of past, present, and future. Frigg helps establish, preserve, and protect families and is associated with the birth of children. She oversees all matters connected with family life.

Fulla — goddess of abundance and faithful companion of Frigg. She guards wealth, replaces losses, increases knowledge, and helps with difficult work.

Hodr — a blind member of the Aesir with enormous physical strength who unintentionally killed Baldr, son of Odin and Frigg. He embodies brute force and conflict and is said to help one recognize mistakes.

Heimdallr — son of Odin, the 'brightest of the Aesir,' and guardian god of the rainbow bridge connecting heaven and earth. He possessed the gift of foresight. Connecting with him is associated with developing clairvoyance, changing one's destiny, and beginning a new life. As god of vigilance, Heimdallr helps one anticipate danger and protect oneself in time.

Hermod — son of Odin, whose name means 'courageous.' He served as herald and messenger of the gods and traveled to Hel, the realm of the dead, to rescue his brother Baldr. Contact with him is associated with courage and fearlessness. He protects travelers and is said to help obtain messages and needed information from the dead.

Hlin — goddess of personal protection. She conceals and saves those pursued by danger and fights to the end for the person under her care.

Eir — goddess of healing and patroness of healers and physicians. The tradition attributes to her the power to heal all illnesses and wounds.

Appendix · Description of the Gods, Version 2

DESCRIPTION OF THE GODS (Version 2). Norse Gods

The higher deities are divided into the Aesir and the Vanir. The Aesir are gods and goddesses of social order and consciousness, while the Vanir are deities of nature and prosperity. THE AESIR

Odin-Wotan. Odin is the supreme god of the vitki, patron of masters of the runes. Odin is the god who sacrifices—gives—'himself to himself' in an act of magical initiation to obtain the runes: knowledge of the self, the cosmos, and the forces governing these realms. Odin is the god of poetry, magic, ecstasy, and the divine synthesis of consciousness. By exploring the image of this god, the runic master is said to gain hidden knowledge of past and future and change the woven pattern of the world's fabric. Animals associated with Odin are the eagle, ravens, wolves, horse, and serpent.

Tiw-Tyr. Tiw is the god of Law and patron of justice and rational thought. He knows the measure of all things and the proper place of each thing in a just and rightful order. Tiw is the god of true faith (troth) and can always be trusted. In some Scandinavian regions, Tiw is known by the name Ullr or Ullinn.

Thor-Thunar. The name Thunar means 'thunderer.' Thunar, a god of unwavering loyalty and troth, is the reliable defender of gods and humanity. He is the warrior among the gods, and his principal weapon is the hammer. Thor's animal is the goat.

Frigg. Frigg is the patroness of order within the family. She is Odin's wife and, according to tradition, possesses great prophetic abilities. Despite her knowledge of the future, she seldom speaks about it. THE VANIR

Freyja. Freyja is the goddess of magic, eros, and physical well-being. Freyr is Freyja's twin brother. Their names literally mean 'Lord' and 'Lady.' Freyja's magic is seidr, characterized by trance states and journeys through the worlds of Yggdrasil. Freyja also controls the forces of natural cycles, symbolized by her necklace Brisingamen. Animals associated with her are the pig and cat. Freyr. Freyr is patron of prosperity, material and physical well-being, peace, and eros. He is called Veraldargod, God of the Universe, and governs natural processes on earth and in the air. His animals are the horse, boar, and deer. Njord. Another important Vanir god is Njord, father of Freyja and Freyr. He presides over material welfare and abundance and governs the elements of the sea and the air above it.

There are other gods and goddesses of the North, but those mentioned here are key deities who open the way to the divine realms. They are the principal gods to whom offerings are customarily made. The names of other gods and goddesses may also be used in magical practice for special purposes.

Bragi — god of eloquence, also guardian of wisdom and poetry; husband of Idunn. Eir — goddess of healing, healer of gods and goddesses. Forseti — god of justice, always able to see both sides of a dispute. Fulla — faithful attendant of Frigg, ever helping the great gods handle difficult work. Gefjon — goddess of virtue, known as 'kind' or 'giving'; she may give a bodily or spiritual talent and may be an aspect of Freyja. Gna — goddess of transformation, raising consciousness to dizzying heights, companion of Frigg. Heimdallr — guardian god, patron of clairvoyance and vigilance. Hlin — goddess who protects people from physical danger, companion of Frigg. Hodr — god of blind force, embodying brute strength and conflict. Idunn — goddess of eternal renewal, guardian of the Aesir's golden apples, seeking to restrain the fury of divine powers in the universe. Lofn — goddess of leniency; with her consent one may engage in a secret love affair or other forbidden acts; she is close to both Odin and Frigg. Loki — not a true god in this account because he belongs to the Jotnar, but he is Odin's blood brother and therefore accepted among the Aesir. Patron of beauty and deception, cunning and treachery; a trickster and prankster without equal in laughter and humor. Saga — her name means 'seer' or 'prophetess'; she appears to be an active aspect of Frigg and possesses considerable knowledge of the future. Sjofn — goddess of love, invoked to attract the attention of a beloved person. Snotra — goddess of reason. Syn — goddess of denial and a powerful defender of those accused in court. Ullr — may fulfill Tyr's function and expresses the aspect of Tyr connected with physical precision and coordinated movement, as in hunting or archery; commonly invoked in battles for martial skill. Vali — god of vengeance, son of Odin; according to myth he avenged Baldr's murder when only one day old. Var — goddess of honesty who punishes breakers of oaths and promises. Vidar — god of vengeance who avenges his 'father' Odin, of whom he is a projection; god of silence and a helper in enduring crisis. Vor — goddess of all-encompassing knowledge, so wise that nothing escapes her insight and intuition.

These gods and goddesses may be invoked for many practical questions. Their names can be used in invocations and spells.